Russian Navy Cruiser Moskva to be Overhauled in Crimea.

The Moskva missile cruiser of project 1164 (NATO: Slava-class) will undergo an overhaul at a shipyard in Sevastopol in Crimea, Flotprom online publication said. A designer of the Severnoe Bureau said the technical upgrade project had stalled because of lack of funds. "There is enough money only for sustainable overhaul," the source told Flotprom.

The Moskva is the lead ship of Atlant project 1164. It became operational in 1983 as the Slava cruiser. Picture: Russian MoD

The 13th shipyard was instructed to cope with the task. The work can be done in 6-12 months, a source at the shipyard said.

A Navy representative said the General Headquarters had been informed it is inappropriate to upgrade the warship because of lack of funds. He stressed there is no talk about the utilization of the Black Sea fleet flagship but major problems exist. "Pre-upgrade work has been suspended, the fate of the warship is unclear. There is an instruction to revive ship overhaul in Crimea. Therefore the cruiser will undergo it in Sevastopol," the source said. So far the upgrade has been indefinitely postponed.

The Moskva missile cruiser had to begin a three-year overhaul in 2018 at Zvyozdochka affiliate in Sevastopol. But it has not happened yet as no contract has been signed.

The Moskva is the lead ship of Atlant project 1164. It became operational in 1983 as the Slava cruiser. In 1983 the Moscow government took the warship under its patronage and renamed it into the Moskva. Atlant-class cruisers have a displacement of 11380 tons, 186-meter length and 20.8-meter maximum width. The speed is 34 knots and the crew comprises 510 men. The main arms are 16 launchers of P-1000 Vulkan missiles. The ship is armed with artillery, missile air defense, antiaircraft Osa-M missiles, torpedo and antisubmarine rocket launchers.

In the second half of 2015 the cruiser lead the permanent Russian Navy force in the Mediterranean and defended the Russian airbase in Humaymim in Syria with its air defense. The warship has not been at sea since January 2016, Flotprom said.

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